Automatic blade holder

ABSTRACT

The method is for profiling blades with a belt grinding profiling machine. The blades are mounted into a vise. A vertical position of the template is adjusted by rotating the rotatable knob. The motor is turned on to rotate the grinding belt over the grinding wheel. The guide wheel engages the underside profile of the template. The guide wheel of the template guides movement of the grinding wheel mounted on the common axle by moving the guide wheel along the underside profile of the template. The grinding belt grinds material off the underside of the blade until a portion of the underside profile of the template is copied to the underside of the blade.

PRIOR APPLICATION

This is a continuation-in-part patent application that claims priorityfrom U.S. utility patent application Ser. No. 16/854,433, filed 21 Apr.2020 that claims priority from U.S. provisional patent applicationnumber 62/898,989, filed 11 Sep. 2019.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to an automatic blade holder that automaticallysenses the number of blades held in the blade holder and horizontallyshifts the blades upon completion to make sure the next time the bladeholder is used, a non-worn portion of the grinding belt aligned on topof the next batch of blades to be sharpened.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Sharpening apparatuses for grinding or sharpening blades such as skateblades have been available for decades.

However, the prior art sharpening apparatuses are often manual andrequire extensive skills and experience of the person doing thesharpening. This results in varying sharpening results and makes it moredifficult for users of skate blades to obtain properly sharpened skateblades. There is a need for an effective sharpening method and apparatusthat is easy to use while providing consistent and high-qualitysharpening of skate blades. There is a need for a better and a morereliable blade holder used for sharpening blades.

The automatic blade holder of the present invention provides a solutionto the above-outlined problems. More particularly, the blade holder ofthe present invention has a movable plate and a fixture. A rotatablebolt is in operative engagement with a block attached to the plate. Amotor is in operative engagement with the bolt. The motor rotates thebolt to move the plate towards (or away from) the fixture to grip afirst set of blades until a torque threshold value is reached. Theprocessor determines a number of blades included in the set of bladesbased on the number of rotations of the bolt when the torque thresholdvalue is reached. A first grinding portion of a rotating abrasive beltis applied against the first set of blades, wherein the first set ofblades has a total width W1, to sharpen the set of blades. A vise isslid sideways a distance W1 until a second grinding portion is alignedon top of the second set of blades.

The method further comprises the step of the motor automaticallyreducing a gripping force for a second set of blades wherein the secondset of blades includes fewer blades than the first set of blades.

The method further comprises the step of sliding a slide, attached tothe vise, along a rail to shift the vise relative to the belt.

The method further comprises the step of providing a linear actuatorthat has a rod in rotational engagement with a bolt secured to a piecein operational engagement with the slide.

The method further comprises the step of simultaneously sharpening theblades contained in the first set of blades.

The method further comprises the step of rotating the rod to shift thevise relative to the belt (186).

The method further comprises the step of inserting a motor shaft intothe bolt.

The method further comprises the step of providing the block with anopening defined therein to threadedly engage the bolt.

The method further comprises the step of determining a gripping gapbetween the plate and the fixture by counting a number of rotations ofthe shaft.

The method further comprises the step of providing the shaft with anelongate protrusion and inserting the protrusion into a groove at an endof the bolt.

The method of the present invention for profiling blades with a beltgrinding profiling machine. A belt grinding profiling machine isprovided that has an electric for driving a grinding wheel with agrinding belt in operative engagement with the motor and grinding wheel.A guide wheel and the grinding wheel are mounted on a common axle. Themachine has a tiltable vise, that is shiftable in a horizontal directionalong a rail attached to the machine, and a rotatable knob in operativeengagement with a template that has an underside profile. The blade hasan underside The blades are mounted into the vise. A vertical positionof the template is adjusted by rotating the rotatable knob. The motor isturned on to rotate the grinding belt over the grinding wheel. The guidewheel engages the underside profile of the template. A movement of theguide wheel along the underside profile of the template guiding amovement of the grinding wheel mounted on the common axle; and thegrinding belt grinding material off the underside of the blade until aportion of the underside profile of the template is coped to theunderside of the blade.

The method further comprises the step of tilting the vise from ahorizontal closed position to an upright tilted position prior tomounting the blades inside the vise.

Additionally, the method further comprises the step of providing ahandle, turning the handle to tighten the blade mounted in the vise.

The method further comprises the step of positioning the undersideprofile of the template relative to the guide roll.

Furthermore, the method further comprises the step of positioning thegrinding wheel relative to the underside of the blade.

The method further comprises the step of stopping the grinding of theblade when the guide roll is rollable along the underside profile of thetemplate.

Additionally, the method further comprises the step of mounting thetemplate to a template holder by tightening locking knobs extendingthrough the template.

The method further comprises the step of moving the vise back and forthon the rail, prior to turning on the motor, while adjusting the positionof the grinding wheel relative to the underside of the blade.

Finally, the method further comprises the step of providing theunderside profile with two different profiles wherein a first profile ata rear portion of the template is equivalent to a section of a peripheryof a first circle having a first radius and a front portion of thetemplate is equivalent to a second of a periphery of a second circlehaving a second radius.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded side view of a portion of the blade holder of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the end of the smooth section of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is an elevational side view of a portion the blade holder in anopen position;

FIG. 4 is an elevation side of the portion of the blade holder of thepresent invention holding a plurality blades;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the blade holder of the presentinvention showing a shifting mechanism;

FIG. 6 is substantially similar to the view of FIG. 4 but shows thegrinding belt shifted to the side to align a non-worn belt portion withthe new set of blades to be sharpened;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the blade holder of the presentinvention including an abrasive belt assembly; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the blade holder the present inventionincluding the abrasive belt assembly shown in FIG. 7 ;

FIG. 9 is an elevational side view of a belt grinding profiling machineof the present invention;

FIG. 10 a detailed perspective front view of the belt grinding profilingmachine of the present invention shown in FIG. 9 ;

FIG. 11 is an elevational side of a tiltable vise in an open position ofthe present invention;

FIG. 12 is an elevational side view of a first embodiment of a templateof the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an elevational side view of a second embodiment of a templateof the present invention;

FIG. 14 is an elevational side view of a third embodiment of a templateof the present invention;

FIG. 15 is an elevational side view of a fourth embodiment of a templateof the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a perspective front side view of the machine of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 17 is an elevational side view of the machine the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1 , the blade holder 100 has a sturdy vise 102that acts as a frame for all other components and is designed towithstand all the forces that is applied thereon. The blade holder 100is very compact. An important feature of the blade holder is that it canautomatically determine how many blades are to be sharpened and how hardthe blades should be clamped or held together. In other words, the bladeholder 100 automatically adjusts the gripping force or torque valuedepending on how many blades are to be simultaneously sharpened. It canalso automatically shift the entire holding mechanism so that newnon-worn portion of the sharpening belt is aligned with the next batchof blades that are to be sharpened by the belt.

The vise 102 has a hollow space 116 defined therein to receive arotatable threaded bolt 118, as explained in detail below. The vise 102has, at one end 104, a round opening 106 defined therein andtherethrough to receive a round inset 108. The inset 108 has a roundopening 110 defined therein to receive a rotatable motor shaft 112extending from a gearbox 115 of an electric motor 114. The inset 108prevents horizontal movement of the bearing 168 and has an outsidethread 109 that is screwed into the round opening 106. The motor 114 hasan encoder 117 that measures and monitors the number of rotations of theshaft 112. An upper side 120 of the vise 102 has a groove 122 definedtherein to receive a wedge 124. A plate 126, having bolts 128, rests onthe upper side 120 of vise 102. The bolts 128 are screwed into threadedopenings 130 defined in a shiftable or movable block 132 to hold theplate 126 to the block 132. The block 130 has a round opening 134defined therein to receive a threaded portion 136 of the bolt 118. Theplate 126 may be integral with the block 132.

As explained below, by keeping track of the number of rotations of theshaft 112, it is possible to determine how much the plate 126 has beenshifted horizontally relative to the fixture 154 and how bits thegripping gap 119 (best shown in FIG. 3 ) is between an engagementsurface 121 of the plate 126 and an opposite engagement surface 123 thefixture 154. It is also possible to determine the size of the gap 119 bysensing the position of the plate 126 with a position sensor withoutmeasuring the number of rotations of the shaft 112.

The bolt 118 has a flange 140 that has a diameter greater than adiameter of the threaded portion 136. One function of the flange 140 isto prevent horizontal movement of the bolt 118 during operation of theblade holder 100. The flange 140 separates the threaded portion 136 froma smooth section 142. At an end 144 of the smooth section 142, there isa threaded section 146 that has an opening 148 defined therein. Theopening 148 has a cut-out 150 defined therein to receive an elongateprotrusion 152 of the shaft 112 of the motor 114 to prevent the shaft112 from rotating relative to the bolt 118 so that when the shaft 112 isrotated the bolt 118 also rotates.

The upper surface 120 also supports a fixture 154 that has bolts 156being fixed but removably secured to the vise 102 by screwing the bolts156 into threaded openings 158 on the upper surface 120. The fixture 154has a groove 160 at a bottom surface 162 to receive an upper portion ofthe wedge 124. The block 130, with the plate 126 attached thereto, ismovable or shiftable in the horizontal direction (H), by turning thebolt 118, so that blades can be captured and held between the plate 126and the fixture 154, as described in detail below.

A covering plate 164 is attached to a second end 166 of the vise 102 toprovide dust and particle protection to the vice 102. A bearing 168 isrotatably engaging the smooth section 142 of the bolt 118 that allowsthe bolt 118 to turn or rotate with minimum friction as rotatable ortorque forces are applied to the bolt 118. The inset 108 has thefunction of preventing the bearing 168 from moving in the horizontaldirection (H) so that the bearing 168 is captured between the inset 108and the flange 140.

A U-shaped cover plate 170 is placed on top of the vise 102 to preventor reduce dust and particles from moving into and through the vise 102.

A motor mounting plate 172 is mounted by bolts 174 to the end 104 ofvise 102 by screwing the bolts 174 into openings 176 at the end 104. Alock-nut 178 is provided to prevent the bolt 118 from moving in thehorizontal direction (H). The lock-nut 178 has a screw 180 that can bescrewed against the bolt 118 to hold it in place. The motor mountingplate 172 attaches the motor 114 and gearbox 115 to the vise 102.

FIG. 3 shows the blade holder 100 in an open assembled position (withthe vise 102 removed for clarity) while FIG. 4 shows the blade holder100 in a closed position with a plurality of blades 182 held firmlybetween plate 126 and fixture 154. Each blade 182, such as a skateblade, is typically about 3 millimeters wide but other widths can alsobe used. The motor 114 rotates the shaft 112, via gearbox 115, a certainnumber of revolutions, which in turn, rotates the screw 118.

The blade holder 100 is connected to a computer processor 184 that runson software. As mentioned earlier, the processor 184 keeps, among otherthings, track of the number of revolutions the shaft 112 has beenrotated. The processor 184 also monitors the torque force required torotate the shaft 112. While the blades 182 are loosely held between theplate 126 and the fixture 154 very little torque force of the motor 114is required to turn the shaft 112 that is in operative engagement withthe bolt 118 as the protrusion 152 engages the groove 150. The threadedportion 136 is in threaded operative engagement with the threadedopening 134 of block 132 so when the threaded portion 136 is rotated,the block 132 moves horizontally away or towards the flange 140. When agripping side or engagement surface 121 of the plate 126 encounters andabuts the blades 182 to move the blades together the tor cue required tohorizontally move the blades 182 increases. When all the blades 182 arein contact with one another, the torque required to further rotate theshaft 112 increases substantially to a threshold value. The processor184 monitors the torque that is generated by the motor 114. When thetorque required reaches the threshold value, the processor 184determines the number of blades 182 that are held between the plate 126and fixture 152 because the processor 184 has received input regardingthe thickness of each blade 182 and the initial distance between theplate 126 and the fixture 154. The threshold value could be any suitablevalue such as 3-7 NM. After the processor 182 has determined the numberof blades 182 held by the blade holder 100, the processor 184 determinethe final torque value that must be reached to firmly hold the pluralityof blades 182 during the sharpening procedure of the blades. The finaltorque value could, for example, be 5-11 Nm but higher and lower valuescan also be used. The higher the number of blades held the higher thefinal torque value should be. By knowing the number of blades 182, theprocessor 184 also calculates the total width W of the set of blades182. This width W1 wears on a first grinding section 187 of the rotatingabrasive belt 186 as the rotating abrasive belt 186 grinds against theset of blades 182 to sharpen the blades. The belt 186 may have anysuitable width such as 40 mm. After the sharpening of the blades 182 iscomplete, the processor 184, preferably, shifts the vise 102horizontally, to a distance that is equivalent to the width W1, so thata non-worn second grinding portion 189 of the sharpening belt 186 ispositioned over the next set of blades 191 that are to be sharpened, asexplained below. The fact that the vise 102 can be shifted prolongs theuseful life of the abrasive belt 186 and it also ensures that the beltsharpens evenly i.e. it prevents the worn section 187 to engage aportion of the blades while a non-worn section 189 engages anotherportion of the set of blades. Instead, the vise 102 is shifted until thenon-worn portion 189 is aligned on top of the new set of blades 191 thathas a width W2. Preferably, the vise 102 is only shifted between thesharpening sessions of each new set of blades. It may also be possiblefor the processor 184 to require a shifting of the vise 102 after acertain time period (such as 500 seconds) or after a certain number ofrevolutions of the motor that braves the belt 186. When the full widthof the belt 186 has been used it is time to replace the belt 186 with anew non-worn belt.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view that shows the shifting mechanism on anunderside of the blade holder 100. The vise 102 rests on and is attachedto a side 190 that is slidable on a linear rail 192 wherein elongateprotrusions 194 of the side 190 follow the elongate grooves 196 on therail 192. A mounting bracket 198 is attached or secured to the slide190. The bracket 198 is attached to angled metal piece 200 by a bolt202. A bottom end 204 of the piece 200 is fastened to an elongatethreaded piston or rod 206 by a threaded nut 208. By rotating the nut208 the nut 208 travels along the rod 206. The rod 206 is in operativerotatable engagement with a linear actuator or electric motor 210 via amounting bracket 212. The actuator 210 is also connected to theprocessor 184. The rod 206 has outside threaded portion 214 that is inoperative engagement with inside thread 216 of the nut 208 so that whenthe rod 206 rotates the piece 200 moves away or towards the actuator 210as the threaded rod 206 rotates inside the nut 208 that is secured tothe bottom end 204. The software is programmed to know how manyrotations of the rod 206 are equivalent to the width W of the blades 182to be sharpened. Because the piece 200 is connected to the vise 102 andside 190, horizontal movement of the piece 200 also moves the slide 190relative to the rail 192. As mentioned above, the grinding or sharpeningof a first set of blades 182 wears a portion W1 of the belt 186. Uponcompletion of the grinding of the first set of blades, it is possible toshift the side 190 horizontally sideways so that a new non-worn portion189 is aligned with a new set of blades 191, placed and firmly heldbetween the plate 126 and the fixture 154, that are to be sharpened. Inthis way, it is not necessary to replace the belt 186 each time a newset of blades is to be sharpened because a non-worn portion 189 of thebelt 186. In this way, the belt 186 can be used to sharpen many sets ofblades until the entire width of the belt 186 is worn from grinding.

With reference to FIGS. 7-8 , an elongate linear control unit assembly300 includes an elongate control unit 302 that has a slide or rails 304along which a contact wheel assembly 306 may slide. More particularly,underneath the linear control unit, the assembly 300 with a contactwheel is connected to the slide. The assembly 300 is fully computerizedso that a computer calculated and controls the movement of the variouscomponents of assembly 300 via computer programs. The assembly is verydynamic and can be used to profile and sharpen virtually any profile ofthe blades because the abrasive belt and the rollers are very adaptiveand can follow and digitally register/record the profiles of the bladesso there is no need to use physical templates.

The assembly 300 and computer can thus be used to createprofiling/grinding and sharpening programs based on the sensed orregistered profiles by the contact wheel. It is to be understood thatthe present invention can also create virtually any profile because itis computer driven that creates profiles based on software. In otherwords, the assembly 300 may also be used to create virtually any profileof the blades by selecting a suitable sharpening/grinding program. It isalso possible to do test or reference runs so that the contact wheel mayfollow the contour or profile of the blades to be ground. In this way,the motor 308 acts as a spring when the contact wheel follows theprofile of the blade assembly. This “sensing” step by the contact wheelis done without rotating the abrasive belt. In this way, the computercan determine the location and profile of the blades by creating areference program so that the computer can calculate how to best grindthe blades to create the desired profile. The computer may be used toset different grinding pressures depending upon the number of bladesthat are to be ground or sharpened. The computer may also adjust thespeed of the sideways movement of the contact wheel depending upon howmany blades are to be profiled/ground and the effect of the motordriving the abrasive belt. The motor effect and the sideways movement ofthe contact wheel are thus adjusted to one another to optimize thegrinding along an optimized effect curve so that a constant grindingpressure can be used When the maximum effect of the motor is requiredthen the computer, preferably, lowers the speed of the sideways movementof the contact wheel as the linear control unit moves horizontally sothat the most optimal grinding results are accomplished. Preferably, theblades are fixedly held by the blade holder. The contact wheel is thusthe part that is moving sideways. The computer may also determine howworn the abrasive belt is and the particle size on the abrasive beltbased on the performance of the belt as it is used for grinding theblades. Preferably, the abrasive belt is used for creating profiles ofseveral blades that are held together by the blade holder. As describedin detail below, the actual sharpening of a blade is, preferably, doneby a disc that has the desired convex grinding shape and the blades arethen sharpened one by one. The blade holder places or sideways shift theblade to be sharpened over the disc that has the selected shape radius.The software may be programmed with the position of each type of disc onthe spindle so that blade holder can be shifted the correct distance tobe placed over the desired disc.

An important feature of the assembly 300 is that it is designed to beable to control the position of the contact wheel 320 and the spindle322 both horizontally and vertically, as explained below. The verticaland horizontal positions are determined by the angle of the positioningaxle 312 that is turned by the motor 308. By using a gearbox 310 a highprecision can be obtained as well as a high torque. Preferably, thecontact wheel 320 is designed to follow a coordinate program to grindthe bottom surface of the blades 332 that are held above the contactwheel 320. This results in a function that has virtually no limitationsregarding how the skate profile of the blades can be ground. Moreparticularly, the assembly 306 includes an electric motor 308 inoperative engagement with a gearbox 310. A rotatable axle or rod 312protrudes from the gearbox 310 through a bearing house 314. The axle 312is rotatably attached to an end of an arm 316. The opposite end of thearm 316 is rotatably attached to an axle 318 that extends through acontact wheel 320 and an adjacent spindle 322 that has a plurality ofgrinding wheels 324 mounted thereon so that the contact wheel 320rotates, the grinding wheels 324 rotate also. The construction of thespindle 322, discs 324 and the contact wheel 320 enables the discs 324and contact wheel 320 to be moved both in a horizontal and verticaldirection along a circular path because of the linear control unit 302as well as a result of rotating the axle 312. The contact wheel 320 isthus eccentrically mounted relative to the axle 312 so that the secondaxle 318 is off-center or shifted away from the first axle 312. Thismakes it possible to move the contact wheel 320 relative to the firstaxle 312 so that the exact position of the wheel 320 may be adjusted inthe horizontal and vertical directions along the circular path byrotating the axle 312 in a first or a second opposite direction.Preferably, the contact wheel 320 may rotate freely because of itsbuilt-in double bearing construction. The assembly 300 also has a firstadjustable roller 326 and a second roller 328 so that the contact wheel320, rollers 326, 328 may carry an abrasive belt 330. The roller 328 isin operative engagement with a motor 329 that drives the abrasive belt.Preferably, the roller 326 is adjustable to create a tension of the belt330 and adjusts its position to horizontal and vertical movement of thecontact wheel 320 in engagement with the non-elastic belt 330 when thecontact wheel 320 follows the profile of the blades to be profiled orsharpened. The rotatable abrasive belt 330 may be used to grind theblades 332. The vertical movement of the contact wheel 320 and spindle322 is fully controlled by the electric motor 308.

With reference to FIGS. 9 and 16-17 , an ice skate sharpener or manualbelt grinding profiling machine 400 is shown that may be used tosimultaneously profile 1-6 ice skate blades, stacked next to oneanother. Only one blade is shown in the figures. One of the mostimportant features of the present invention is that it is possible tocopy a profile of a template to ice skating blades even though thetemplate profile is quite complicated. The underside profile of thetemplate may have any suitable profile and this makes the presentinvention very versatile. Another important feature is the mechanismassociated with the belt rollers provides adjustments of movement, belttension and pressure in one system.

The machine 400 has a motor-driven belt 402 with three-wheel hubs 410,412 and 414 that are in operative engagement with the rotatable belt402. A motor 408 drives the driving wheel 410 to drive and rotate thebelt 402 about hubs 412, 414. Preferably, the hubs or wheels 412, 414are mounted on a Y-axis linear-guide rail 416, supported by hydraulicgas springs for grinding pressure, movement compensation and formaintaining a solid and consistent belt-pressure during the grindingprocedure.

The machine 400 has a handle 450 that is used to lock, tighten andsecure the blades 406 to be profiled or machined so that the blades 406are firmly held in the vise 432 of the machine 400 during the grindingor profiling operation.

In order to mount the skate blades 406 into the machine 400, a tiltablevise 432 is mounted on a linear guide or rail 426 (X-axis). The vise 432may be moved back and forth on the rail 426 in the x-direction. Moreparticularly, the bottom of the vise 432 has a pair of rollers 452,mounted below a plate 453, that are held to the rail 426 and enable thevise 432 to slide along the rail 426. The vise 432 is tiltable relativeto the plate 453 at hinges 455 to an open position to make it easier toset up and mount the blades 406. Once the blades are clamped in the vise432, the vise 432 is tilted back to the closed position and locked inits horizontal grinding position.

The blade grinding and profiling copy system 418 is mounted in the frontof the vise 432. The system 418 is adjustable in both the x- andy-directions for exact positioning of a guide roll 424 relative to anunderside profile 420 of the template 404. The profile 420 has thus aprofile shape or curvature as seen from the side. Preferably, thetemplate 404 should be longer than the blades 406 so that is onlynecessary for the guide roll 424 to follow a portion of the underside420 of the template 404 in order to grind the entire underside 422 ofthe blade 406. During the set up, it is also determined which percentage(often between 50-75%) of the length of the template 404 is to betransferred or copied to the blade or blades 406. During the grindingoperation of the blade 406, as long as the guide roll 424 does not rollon the underside profile 420 of the template 404, material is beingground of the underside 422 of the blade 406. When the guide roll 424can roll on the profile 420 then no surface or material is ground offthe blade or blades 406.

A key features of the present invention is thus the efficient profilingof the blade 406 because the shape of the underside profile 420 of thetemplate 404 is copied to the underside 422 of the ice skate blade 406by moving the vise 432 back and forth so that the rotatable belt 402,mounted on the rotatable rolls 410, 412, 414, grinds the underside 422while the position of the grinding roll 414 and the grinding belt 402are guided by guide roll 424 that, at the same time, is urged against tofollow the profile of the underside profile 420 of the template 404.This is possible because the grinding roll 414 and the guide roll 424are mounted to the same axle 444 but there is a distance (D) between thetwo rolls 414 and 424. The grinding roll 414 is generally wider than theguide roll 424 so that it can support a wider belt 402 to profile aplurality of blades 406 that are mounted next to one another. The ideaof copying the profile of templates onto the blades means the profilesof the skate blades may be shaped into many different radiuses or shapesin a controlled fashion to suit each individual unique requirement.

When the blades 406 are mounted, the vise 432 is tilted into a forwardposition (best seen in FIG. 11 ) for easy access to mount the blades 406therein. The vise 432 is then put back into the horizontal position andthe lockable adjusting bolts 433 on each side of the vise 432 aretightened. The blades 406 are thus put into and centered in the vise 432when the vise is in the open tilted position.

The template 404 is then mounted into the template holder 440 bytightening locking knobs 442. Preferably, a threaded elongate portion ofthe knobs 442 extend through cavities or grooves 446 in the template 404and rest at the bottom of the grooves 446. The template may be adjustedinto position by turning the top knob 448, mounted on top of the vise432, to raise or lower the template 404 relative to the blades 406 andthe guide roll 424 that is fixed in the y-direction on the rail 416. Inthis way, the template 404 is raised or lowered relative to the blades406 in order to minimize the amount of material that must be removedfrom the blades 406 in order to make the underside 422 obtain the sameprofile as the underside profile 420 of the template 404. It is alsopossible to adjust the template 404 sideways (x-direction) in a limitway.

The template holder 440 and vise 432 are then moved back and forth a fewtimes in order to set the amount of surface to be removed from theblades 406. When the template 404 is moved back and forth (withouthaving started the motor 408), the guide roll 424 indicates, by lookingat the position of the grinding roll 414 relative to the underside 422,how much surface from the blades will be removed once the motor 408 isturned on to rotate the belt 402 and the guide roll 424 follows theunderside 422 of the template 404 so that the belt 402 starts grindingoff material from the underside 422 of the blade or blades 406.

After the position of the template 404 is set, the grinding motor 408 isturned on to start the rotation of the grinding belt 402. The vise 432is then moved back and forth on the rail 424 while placing the operatorplaces his/her hand on the clamping handle 450. The back and forthmovement of the vise 432 is repeated until grinding procedure isfinished i.e. when no more surface is removed from the underside 422 ofthe blades 406 even though the vise 432 is moved back and forth whilethe guide roll rolls against the underside 420 of the template 404 Theprofile of the blade 406 is done when the guide roll can be rolledagainst the entire length of the template 404 without removing anyadditional surface or material from the blade 406. The grinding motor408 is then stopped. The vise 432 is unlocked with the lockableadjusting bolts 433 The vise 432 is then tilted upwardly (as shown inFIG. 11 ), the grinding result on the blades is checked before removingthe skate blades 406 from the vise 432. In order to make a completefinish of the underside profile 420 of the blades 406, a final sweepagainst the grinding belt 402 is often carried out without using thetemplate. This blending step is to even out the finish of the profiledarea or underside profile 422 of the blade 420.

With reference to FIG. 12 , the template 404 has a front portion 470 anda back portion 472. This means the profile of the front portion 470determines the profile of the front portion of the blade 406 and theback portion determines the profile of the back portion of the blade406. For example, the profile 420 may a profile that is equivalent to aportion of a periphery 454 of a circle 456. In other words, the circle456 is applied to the template 404, then cut to fit the bottom part ofthe template 404 so that the profile 420 is the same as the periphery454 of the circle 456. The radius 457 of circle 456 may be very largesuch as 4 meter or any other suitable radius. The length of the template404 may be about 450 millimeters or any other suitable length.

The underside profile 420 may also be a combination of profiles so thatit is a combination of more than one profile. FIG. 13 shows a template404 that has a dual radius profile as the underside profile 420. Thismeans a right-side half 458 of the profile 420 has a profile that isequivalent to the periphery of a section of a circle 460 with a radius462 while the left-side half 464 of the profile 420 has a profile thatis equivalent to the periphery of a section of a smaller circle 466 thathas a radius 468 that is smaller than the radius 462.

FIG. 14 shows a template 404 wherein the underside profile 420 consistsof a combination of three difference radii i.e. a section of a circle474 that has a periphery that corresponds to the curvature or profile insection 476, a section of a slightly smaller circle 478 that has aperiphery that corresponds to the curvature in section 480 and a sectionof a smallest circle 482 that has a periphery that corresponds to thecurvature in section 484. Preferably, the very front part 486 of thetemplate 404 is straight and has no curvature. The transition betweenthe various sections of different curvature is seamless. The radiusesmay be pitched from the center point and make up for differentpercentage of the overall template.

FIG. 15 shows a template 404 wherein the curvature of the undersideprofile 420 is equivalent to the shape of an ellipse or conical section488 so that the shape of the underside 490 of the ellipse 488 is thesame as the shape of the profile 420. The relative position of the blade406 to the template 404 is such that the blade 406 is centered to thetemplate 404 but the position may be adjusted sideways when necessary.

While the present invention has been described in accordance withpreferred compositions and embodiments, it is to be understood thatcertain substitutions and alterations may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the sprit and scope of the following claims.

1.-9. (canceled)
 10. A method of profiling one or more ice skate bladesheld by a profiling apparatus, the method comprising: causing a firsthub of the profiling apparatus to move in a direction transverse to alongitudinal direction of the one or more ice skate blades to contactand to follow at least a profile of a template held by the profilingapparatus; causing a second hub of the profiling apparatus to move inconjunction with the first hub, the second hub being in a spaced apartrelationship relative to the first hub in a second direction transverseto the longitudinal direction of the one or more ice skate blades; andcausing an abrasive belt to rotate about the second hub to removeice-contacting material from the ice-contacting surface of the one ormore ice skate blades to apply the profile of the template onto at leasta portion of an ice-contacting surface of the one or more ice skateblades as the one or more ice skate blades move in the longitudinaldirection of the one or more ice skate blades.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the method further comprises causing the first hub to followthe profiling surface of the template without rolling as the rotatingabrasive belt removes material from the at least a portion of theice-contacting surface of the one or more ice skate blades.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises causing thefirst hub to roll along the entire profiling surface of the templateonce the abrasive belt no longer removes material from the at least aportion of the ice-contacting surface of the one or more ice skateblades and the profile of the template has been copied onto the at leasta portion of the one or more ice skate blades.
 13. The method of claim11, wherein the method further comprises a preparation operationpreceding the profiling of the one or more ice skate blades to determinean amount of the material to be removed from the ice-contacting surfaceof the one or more ice skate blades during the profiling operation. 14.The method of claim 13, wherein, during the preparation operation, amotor configured for driving the abrasive belt is deactivated such thatthe abrasive belt does not remove material from the at least a portionof the ice-contacting surface of the one or more ice skate blades. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein the preparation operation comprisesreciprocating the blade holder along the longitudinal direction of theapparatus to obtain a visual indication of an amount of the material tobe removed from the ice-contacting surface of the one or more ice skateblades during the profiling operation.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the first hub does not to roll along the at least a portion ofthe ice-contacting surface of the one or more ice skate blades to denotethat material will be removed from said portion during the profilingoperation as a visual indication of an amount of the material to beremoved from the ice-contacting surface of the one or more ice skateblades during the profiling operation.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein the first hub rolls along a remaining portion of theice-contacting surface of the one or more ice skate blades to denotethat material will not be removed from said remaining portion during theprofiling operation as a visual indication of an amount of the materialto be removed from the ice-contacting surface of the one or more iceskate blades during the profiling operation.
 18. The method of claim 10,wherein the method further comprises restricting motion of the bladeholder along the longitudinal direction of the apparatus as the bladeholder is reciprocated.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the motionof the blade holder is restricted by a guiding mechanism.
 20. The methodof claim 10, wherein the method further comprises restricting motion ofthe first hub along the second transverse direction to the longitudinaldirection of the apparatus as the first hub contacts and follows theprofiling surface of the template.
 21. The method of claim 20, whereinthe method further comprises restricting motion of the second hub alongthe second transverse direction to the longitudinal direction of theapparatus as the second hub moves in conjunction with the first hub. 22.The method of claim 21, wherein the motion of the first hub and thesecond hub are restricted by a guiding mechanism.
 23. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the method further comprises adjusting a position ofthe template in the template holder in at least one of the longitudinaldirection of the apparatus and the second transverse direction of theapparatus with a positioning mechanism.
 24. The method of claim 10,wherein the method further comprises adjusting a position of thetemplate in the template holder in both the longitudinal direction ofthe apparatus and the second transverse direction of the apparatus witha positioning mechanism.
 25. The method of claim 10, wherein the methodfurther comprises locking the position of the template in the templateholder with a positioning mechanism.
 26. The method of claim 10, whereinthe method further comprises adjusting a position of the first hubrelative to the profiling surface of the template with an adjustmentmechanism.
 27. The method of claim 10, wherein the method furthercomprises adjusting a position of the profiling surface of the templaterelative to the ice-contacting surface of the one or more ice skateblades with an adjustment mechanism.
 28. The method of claim 10, whereinthe method comprises pivoting the blade holder about the longitudinaldirection of the apparatus between a first position for loading the oneor more ice skate blades in the blade holder or unloading the one ormore ice skate blades from the blade holder and a second position forprofiling the one or more ice skate blades.
 29. The method of claim 28,wherein the method further comprises locking the blade holder in thesecond position.
 30. The method of claim 10, wherein the method furthercomprises clamping the one or more ice skate blades in the blade holderwith a clamping mechanism.